Homeless banned from camping in Anaheim

Oct. 22, 2013

Updated Oct. 23, 2013 9:25 p.m.

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The City Council of Anaheim passed an anti-camping ordinance during their regular meeting Tuesday evening. The new law would force a large group of homeless people to disband and vacate La Palma Park. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The City Council of Anaheim passed an anti-camping ordinance during their regular meeting Tuesday evening. The new law would force a large group of homeless people to disband and vacate La Palma Park. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM – Lillian Martin has slept behind a hospital, in alleyways and at parks throughout north Orange County since she became homeless nearly two years ago.

She took up residence three months ago with other homeless people at a tent city in Anaheim’s La Palma Park. By December, such encampments will be rousted from the park and just about every other public area in Anaheim under an anti-camping ordinance unanimously adopted Tuesday by the City Council.

“We’re not bad people; we just fell in a bad situation,” said Martin, 56, who was a dog groomer living in Fullerton until she developed brain cancer and her fiance died from a heart attack.

“I never thought in a million years that I would be homeless, but I’ve learned so through this,” Martin said this week. “I honestly don’t know where I’ll go next.”

Opponents said the new law criminalizes the state of being homeless while simply driving them to another city. Supporters said the ordinance is needed because homeless people openly use drugs, go to the bathroom and rummage through trash cans in residential neighborhoods surrounding city parks.

“The tents around the playground area are making it uncomfortable for children to play at,” said Victor La Fontaine, who lives near La Palma Park.

Those setting up camp in Anaheim will be fined $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense committed within a year and $500 for each subsequent violation within a year.

Before the ordinance was adopted Tuesday, Anaheim police regularly cited homeless people who violated a city law that prohibits anyone from being in a city park from 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. The law often forced homeless people to camp in other public spaces across the city.

The Anaheim Poverty Task Force counted 447 homeless people living in Anaheim in January during the daytime. Anaheim police officials have said that officers responded to 4,458 calls for services related to homeless people during the past fiscal year, accounting for about 2 percent of calls.

“When homeless people get citations they cannot pay for, they go to jails that are already crowded,” said Jennifer Lee-Anderson, co-chairwoman of the task force.

“It does not solve the homeless problem; it only shifts the deck chairs around the Titanic,” Lee-Anderson said. “The only solution is a year-round emergency shelter.”

The ordinance also allows police officers to impound sleeping bags, clothes, luggage and other personal property stored in public areas across the city. Officers will leave behind a notice so owners can reclaim unattended items that were confiscated. The Police Department will hold the items in storage for up to 90 days, then sell them at a public auction.

Earlier this year, the City Council awarded a $52,150 contract to Mercy House to oversee a six-month pilot program that allows transients to secure their belongings for up to a week.

In a related move, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to spend $40,000 to keep the Fullerton armory emergency shelter open a little longer. When combined with a similar allocation recently approved by the Fullerton City Council, the shelter will be open 18 additional days this winter.

Mayor Tom Tait on Tuesday said he plans to launch the “Coming Home to Anaheim” initiative with county officials, the Police Department and local nonprofit groups aimed at coming up with a long-term solution to deal with homelessness.

“It’s such a tough issue,” Tait said. “The current situation doesn’t work on just about every front: the park is not well-maintained, it’s not safe and it’s not humane in its current condition.”

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